Killington vs. Sunday River

[SkiDork]

Rode the lift with a woman on Monday who said she had just been to Sunday River. I said to her "I hear its kind of like Killington"

Her response? "It's BIGGER than Killington. It has 8 mountains (peaks?)"

I've never been to Sunday River. Is this true?

[sLoPeS]

never been, but cleary she doenst know what shes talking about (killington is like 1150 acres). my take on "the river"......they do it right with what they got, but lack the steeps and snow.

[Stormchaser]

Rode the lift with a woman on Monday who said she had just been to Sunday River. I said to her "I hear its kind of like Killington"

Her response? "It's BIGGER than Killington. It has 8 mountains (peaks?)"

I've never been to Sunday River. Is this true?

Its more spread out, but I wouldnt say bigger... It is 7-8 continuous linked peaks, with over 1000' less elevation. Good trees when it snows. Good grooming/snowmaking when it doesnt.

[skifaster]

In a word, NO...

[Geoff]

Its more spread out, but I wouldnt say bigger... It is 7-8 continuous linked peaks, with over 1000' less elevation. Good trees when it snows. Good grooming/snowmaking when it doesnt.

Killington has more acres of cut trails and more miles of cut trails. Killington also has a couple orders of magnitude more tree skiing since Sunday River doesn't get much snow and their glades have to be carefully maintained to be skiable. The snowmaking capacity in terms of number of simultaneous guns is comparable. Sunday River has far more intermediate terrain and things are cut in rational trail pods with few intersecting trails. Since it doesn't get the natural snow, Sunday River has nothing comparable to Northstar, Great Bear, Vagabond, Royal Flush, Escapade/Flume, Old Needles Eye, Thimble, or South Ridge. It can't support tree skiing as steep as Julio, Anarchy, Centerpiece, ...

I don't like the place midwinter because you're skiing a groomed manmade surface 90% of the time. At Killington, you only do that when it has thawed and hasn't snowed in a while.

For the masses, Sunday River is a better ski area since it has far better intermediate groomers. It has adequate advanced terrain but nothing like what Killington and points north in Vermont and Sugarloaf have to offer.

[andyzee]

I've only been to Sunday River once, but agree with everything that Geoff is saying. To add to it, or simplify, I believe Killington has far more character.

[Talisman]

Geoff's assessment of SR is spot on.

I would add that the SR layout which has fewer traverses and the trail 'pods' provide a 'skis bigger than Killington' effect on the cruiser terrain. The lack of natural snow and sustained steeps at SR makes the skiing like a collection of small to medium sized ski areas strung together: Haystack, Bear Creek, Whaleback, Pat's Peak and Ascutney. Saying that SR has eight (8) Peaks is more than a bit of marketing hyperbole for bumps on a ridge. Like Killington, SR has multiple base lodges.

[Big Bob]

Was at Sunday River yesterday, Killington last Fri. One thing Sunday River has going for it over Killington, at least right now, is a more positive vibe. Terrain there is not as challenging as Killington. Skiied White Heat for 1 run yesterday, had fresh MM on it. With the exception of a steep section in the middle, fairly easy trail. Bumps on Agoney frozen solid and closed. Moderate crowds well spread out. No real lift lines to speak of. Probably the second largest ski area in NE. If you want more challenging terrain that Killington, go to Sugarloaf, worth he drive. Will be there the 28th and 1st.

[boston_e]

Rode the lift with a woman on Monday who said she had just been to Sunday River. I said to her "I hear its kind of like Killington"

Her response? "It's BIGGER than Killington. It has 8 mountains (peaks?)"

I've never been to Sunday River. Is this true?

From someone who has been to both Killington and SR quite a bit:

I'm sure by statistics that Killington has more acerage / trail miles etc, but I can see why she would think that Sunday River is bigger. In some ways it feels bigger and there are more trails that feel longer because there are many fewer intersections / crossovers etc etc. Also, I belive it is spread out more, so that it would take longer to get from far one side to the other of Sunday River.

Sunday River reports less snow on an annual baisis, but since I've rarely felt a lack of snow there, I have always wondered if it is just more honest reporting.

Killington is better for bumps, trees, "playground needles eye liftline type of stuff" etc, Sunday River is better for uninteruped "Giant Slalom" type of skiing.

[TwinsWillSki]

I am a recent transplant from K to SR. We made the switch because SR seems to have a better gradation of trails for developing skiers, and they are willing to teach kids below the age of 6. There also seems to be a better progression of trails from novice to expert. Also, SR is not an intermediate mountain. K would be proud to have trails like Shock Wave, White Heat, Agony, and Vortex.

While SR has aprox. 1000' less total vertical than K, each pod has 1000 - 1200' v.f, which is comparable to K. So even though K is "bigger", the runs are the same length, but feel longer because they are not cut up, except on Barker.

While K offers terrain that SR does not, SR also has trails that K does not have. K has nothing to compare to Rogue Angel and Excaliber in Jordan Bowl. These trails provide 1200 v.f of rolling continuous skiing. Once you start down the trail, nothing enters the trail. What is nice, is that you can open it up and let them fly, (if you choose) without having to worry about someone entering the trail. K also has nothing to compare to 3-D, a consistent intermediate bump run.

SR also offers tree runs for the masses. Last Tango is an over 100 yds wide glade with easy-moderate terrain. Kids love it. There are no official tree runs like Julio's, there are runs like Low Rider. But they need snow.

So overall, I can see where someone would say "SR is bigger". The longer continuous runs, the spread out layout, and a large variety of runs that are skiable by the masses, could make the SR seem bigger to most skiers.

I do disagree with Boston_e's comment on the lack of liftline playgrounds at SR. When there is snow, I think SR's liflines are as good if not better than K's. I would say Locke Line to Tightwire is compable to Needles. While Agony may be a narrow version of Conclusion, K doesn't have anything that compares to !Caramba, Ruby Palace, and Northern Exposure.

[sLoPeS]

killington doesnt have a chondola.........advantage...........SR

[TheRat]

Having spent innumerable days at each area, I'd say that Geoff and Twins have covered most of the bases correctly. SR is a bit more spread out, but much less confusing to get around than K. K doesn't have anything quite like OZ, but the trees at SR pale in comparison to K. While you can get a real long run at SR from the top of Jordan to the base of White Cap, I'd much rather take K's run of Great Eastern from the top of K Peak to the Skyship base. An intermediate would be happier at SR, although K is fine for intermediates. An expert would be much happier at K, although an expert could find good terrain at SR, just not as much. And just to stir the pot, there is a certain "element" present at K that is lacking at SR, mainly due to geographical distance.

[TwinsWillSki]

[quote="sLoPeS"]killington doesnt have a chondola.........advantage...........SR[/quote]


I wouldn't call it an advantage for SR. With only 1 in 5 chairs being a gondola, we rarely sit in the box, and the gondola cars make it susceptible to wind holds. It is nice that their is a high speed lift to North Peak, but when it is windy, the old triple was better. At least it ran.

[sLoPeS]

I wouldn't call it an advantage for SR. With only 1 in 5 chairs being a gondola, we rarely sit in the box, and the gondola cars make it susceptible to wind holds. It is nice that their is a high speed lift to North Peak, but when it is windy, the old triple was better. At least it ran.

only 1 in 5! well then, advantage back to K.

and bonus points for cooler looking gonjala's too!

[ski the trees]

it's kind of like K used to be, without as much vertical. fun trees, great mountain ops. sweet season pass options...